After saying good-bye to Aunt Ruth, we drove north from Vancouver to catch the ferry at Horseshoe Bay, then enjoyed our picnic lunch "topside."

Upon arrival on Vancouver Island, we drove south to the lovely city of Victoria. We stayed at the Bedford Regency (Room 30) on Government Street, in the heart of downtown. "Murchie's Tea & Coffee" and the "Old Morris Tobacconist" shop are next door to the Bedford.

The view of Government Street just outside our window.

We strolled down to the harbor, and Parliament Building, then took in the excellent British Columbia museum.

Back to the Bedford, where we show off our fancy "Bedford" slippers. We enjoy them so much that we all take them home.

Tea and coffee is delivered to the room in the morning.

Becky and Daniel booked a seaplane flight from the harbor to Vancouver and back again.

We joined up with friend Doug "Zarly" Walker at the nearby Irish Times pub/restaurant.

Gil tried the traditional Canadian dish "Poutine"...french-fried potatoes covered in melted cheese curds and brown gravy. He couldn't finish it all.

After dinner, we walked off our excellent meal with a stroll down to the harbor and Parliament. We discovered - to our dismay - that a Giant Sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) in the park in front of Parliament had been mislabeled as a "coast redwood" (Sequoia sempervirens). We intend to write a stern letter to the proper authorities...any day now.

A friendly passer-by (actually everyone in Victoria was very friendly) stopped and offered to take this truly awful picture for us. Very kind.

Next morning, we found a good cafe for breakfast, then meandered through Chinatown and beyond.

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